


Runaway

by Camellianswer



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: Gen, Gungaroo is just mentioned briefly, Rockman X7 | Mega Man X7, basically canon, but with a little twist!, chase scene, lol, runaways - Freeform, so let's stop pretending, we all know who the professor is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 09:12:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19170205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camellianswer/pseuds/Camellianswer
Summary: He wasn’t surprised when the Mechanaloid arrived.He was more surprised that Red had waited this long to come after him.





	Runaway

Just over four hours had passed since he left the outpost. He’d managed to cover a good amount of ground – and cover his tracks, too. No physical or digital prints to give him away. Even the private com link between him and Red had been severed.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t get by on his own, but…

Turning that link off gave this whole thing a crushing sense of finality.

No turning back now.

 

Using a nondescript standard Reploid body, Axl purchased a can of pineapple Jazz. He popped the tab, took a swig of the sweet quick-energy fuel, and kept wandering on.

Even though he looked like a carefree working Reploid enjoying his leisure hours, inside, Axl’s thoughts were jumping around like a box of crickets. It took a remarkable amount of self-control not to walk faster, or to look behind him every few seconds to see if anyone was following him.

All he had to do was reach Maverick Hunter HQ before they found him. Once he got there, everything would be fine.

He would have teleported, but it left a blatant fingerprint residue that would instantly tell Red exactly where he’d gone. Really a pain. Axl drained the can and tossed it into a nearby bin. Now that he had some more energy, he could try flying. That would go faster.

But if he got exhausted, and then someone DID turn out to be on his trail, he’d be a sitting duck.

That was a chance that he’d have to take. Axl extended the slim wings on his back and launched himself silently into the air.

Time was running out.

 

Axl’s thrusters sputtered warningly. He’d pushed himself too far, and he knew it. He descended hastily, stumbling forward a little, completely beat. He was close, though. This was the city. Bustling and noisy, shining spires reaching up to touch the sky that was spotted with snazzy floating taxis. Hunter Base was just a few dozen miles to the east.

He propped his hands on his knees and just breathed for a while. If he could get a bit of rest, he’d replenish the reserve power and continue flying. He just needed a minute…

BAM-BAM-BAM

The highway shuddered under the weight of a giant machine. Axl looked up. Maybe it was a construction machine heading to another site.

Ah, who was he kidding?

A huge, spidery Mechanaloid rounded the curve. Mega Scorpio. It paused, locking onto Axl’s form.

Axl turned and ran for it.

So much for resting.

 

Mega Scorpio smashed its surroundings to bits, just like usual. Axl would bet money that Gungaroo had programmed it. Homicidal idiot.

For now, all Axl could do was run. He was too exhausted to try fighting that thing yet. Besides, what if another Mechanaloid took its place? No, he just had to make it to Hunter Base…just keep running, no matter what…

He almost didn’t notice when he passed a tall red Reploid with golden hair.

“Hey!” Zero moved quicker than thought, lunging out and snagging Axl by the arm. “Wait a second! Wh—”

“Come on, don’t be stupid! You’re gonna get crushed if you stay here!” Axl pulled away, gasping for air. “Get a move on!”

Zero didn’t let go. “Are you connected to this incident?” He demanded.

“Incident?” Oh, right, the place was a real mess… “Look, I just…whoops, here it comes! So, I’ll be seeing ya!” He jerked free of Zero’s grip and kept running. It was true that Zero was one of the people he’d come here to meet, but Mega Scorpio was making that problematic. They needed to destroy it. But they couldn’t fight that thing here. Too unstable.

The A-Class hunter kept up with Axl easily. “What’s going on?” Too bad Axl didn’t have enough reserve power to reply.

The two of them stayed ahead of the rampaging Mechanaloid until they reached a sharp cliff formed from the shattered half of an elevated highway. This was a better place for a fight.

Zero turned around, facing the Mechanaloid head-on. As his hand went to the saber housed on his back, he gave Axl a sharp glare. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“Yeah, yeah…okay, I’ll tell you everything, but later!” Axl promised. “Right now we’ve gotta take that thing down, right?” He moved back, out of the way. “You’re Zero, so you can take care of it, right? I’m Axl! If you need help let me know.” Though he wasn’t sure how much help he’d be in this exhausted state.

Zero growled and turned back to the threat. “Well, this has become a real pain. I’ll require a full explanation from you once this is over!” Then he drew the beam and slashed a streak of shimmering deadly plasma through the air, and leapt into action.

As Axl watched, he felt his resolve begin to slip away.

Maybe all this was a really, really bad idea…

But no, no, he couldn’t turn back now.

Axl forced himself to go forward to help Zero.

 

The battle ended with Mega Scorpio crashing to the ground and Zero snapping mag-cuffs on Axl’s wrists and dragging him along to HQ.

Aside from the cuffs, this was all going according to plan.

Sometimes Axl hated being right.

 

Visual contact with Mega Scorpio was lost. The screen filled with white static. Red cursed under his breath.

“Having problems, Red?”

Red stiffened slightly at the voice. “Scorpio’s down. Axl’s in Hunter custody now. But,” he added quickly, fingers flying over the keyboard. “I can still get him back, so don’t interfere.”

“See that you do get him back. If his allegiance can’t be bought, then I’ll have to attend to him, too…”

Red ground his teeth, suppressing retort as the Professor strode back into the darkness he’d emerged from.

“Frag, Axl…you idiot…why couldn’t you just do as I say?”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Did you notice? This is a little different from X7. What is it that Axl is trying to do? Why is Red trying to stop him? Post theories in the comments! Also critiques are great!


End file.
